MidwestGen, union settle strike

A group of 1,150 union employees of Midwest Generation LLC has voted to end a strike that lasted nearly three and one-half months at seven Northern Illinois coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.

Members of Local 15 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, voted Tuesday evening to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with an unofficial result of 663 "yes" ballots and 278 "no" ballots, a union official confirmed. Local 15 leadership is expected to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement this week.

Local 15 president and business manager William H. Starr could not be immediately reached for comment.

Workers at the plants, which provide about 40% of Chicago's electrical power needs, will begin getting paid again on Oct. 22. However, not all of them will start work immediately, the spokesman said. They will be phased in during the week and have a re-orientation at each of the plants, he said.

The new contract, which runs through 2005, calls for an immediate base wage increase of 4%. Another 3.5% will be given on Jan.1, the MidwestGen spokesman said. During the next years of the contract, 3% increases will be given each January, he said.

The new contract provides for a faster progression to the top of the pay scale for a particular job classification. The spokesman said it could take up to 10 years to get to the top of a pay scale with prior contracts. Now, it should take closer to four years, he said.

Language was also placed in the contract prohibiting the use of outside contractors to replace staff employees, an initial sticking point in negotiations. Also, the union backed away from its request for MidwestGen to honor customary practices and arbitration agreements won during the past 13 years under ComEd's ownership.

MidwestGen officials argued they wanted to operate like a competitive power provider and not a regulated utility.

Managers and hired temporary workers have been operating the power stations in Chicago, Morris, Joliet, Pekin, Waukegan and Romeoville. Managers will now go back to their normal jobs, while the temporary workers will be let go, the spokesman said.